Reports of an impending storm prompted Milford officials to move the annual Fourth of July fireworks from Thursday night to Saturday, when the Milford Lions Club will serve food and host a concert at Fino Field annex on Granite Street.

And, state officials on Wednesday decided to move the Boston Pops Fourth of July concert and fireworks at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade from Friday to Thursday in an effort to avoid the worst weather from Tropical Storm Arthur - expected to strengthen into a hurricane. The forecast for Thursday and Thursday night was not expected to be much better with the chance for heavy rain and thunderstorms.

The National Weather Service is predicting Arthur will pass about 175 miles to the east of Cape Cod late Friday night into early Saturday morning.

Even though the storm is off the coast, Bill Simpson of the National Weather Service warns it will still affect MetroWest and the Milford area.

"Itís going to be minimum impact in MetroWest. Winds wonít be an issue, but the timing is good for heavy rain for late Friday night into Saturday Ö There will be brief, heavy tropical downpours," Simpson said.

A cold front, enhanced by the storm, will sweep through Massachusetts Thursday, Simpson said, causing showers and thunderstorms.

"We expect travel volume to be very high on Thursday. Itís critically important to time your travel to avoid periods of heavy rain and downpours," said Mary Maguire the director of public and government affairs for AAA Southern New England.

AAA expects nearly 41 million people to hit the roads this weekend for the Fourth of July holiday.

Wendy Northcross of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce does not think the storm will affect traffic getting onto the Cape.

"Fortunately a lot of people are already here so Iím not as worried about it," she said.

The last two major tropical storms to hit the area, Hurricane Irene in August 2011 and Superstorm Sandy in October 2012, caused flooding, uprooted trees and massive power outages.

Jake Navarro, a media representative for National Grid, says the company is monitoring Arthur closely and will have extra staff on hand throughout the state in case the storm punishes New England in the same fashion.

"When the actual tropical storm does roll in, the Cape and the Islands are expected to see more severe weather so we have extra crews headed to Nantucket in case they have elevated winds," he said.

Maguire asks travelers to be especially careful in the possibly treacherous conditions.

"Wear a seat belt and drive safely," she said. "Itís good to get there, but itís better to get there safely."